Toy firearm with pivoted magazine and firing assembly



Aug. 19, 1958 o. M. BIRDSALL TOY FIREARM WITH PIVOTED MAGAZINE AND FIRING ASSEMBLY Filed Nov. 13. 1953 INVENTOR. Oscar Zz 'rZea/Z TOY FIREARM WITH PIVOTED MAGAZINE AND FIRING ASSEMBLY Oscar M. Birdsall, Wyandotte, Mich, assignor to All Metal Products Company, Wyandotte, Mich a corporation of Delaware Application November 13, 1953, Serial No. 391,963

2 Claims. (or. 42-57 This invention relates to toy firearms, and particularly to animproved gun for discharging roll caps.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved toy gun of the indicated character wherein all portions of the operative mechanism are incorporated in a compact subassembly which is economical to construct, simple to install, well adapted to mass production techniques, and so arranged that it is bodily movable in a convenient manner by the user of the gun to afford access to the mechanism for loading and the like.

Another object is to provide an improved gun of the indicated type which is so constructed and arranged that it is virtually impossible for sparks or burning powder to be projected out of the gun, where they might present a danger to the user, even if the gun should be fired with the assembly open to expose the magazine.

A further object is to provide improved and simplified means for supporting and hinging the aforementioned subassembly.

The foregoing objects, and other objects which will be apparent upon consideration of the present disclosure in its entirety, are attained, in my preferred mechanism, by-the provision of a housing which is realistically styled to resemble a rifle, having a chamber therein which is completely enclosed except for a slot along the bottom.

The aforementioned subassembly is so fitted into the chamber and mounted in such maner that it is swingable upwardly and downwardly through the slot and into and out of the chamber, and may be latched in a fully closed position or moved downwardly to an open position for loading at will. In the open position, only a portion of the subassembly is exposed however, including the magazine for the cap roll. The hammer and anvil which constitute the striking surfaces remain concealed within the gun even when the subassembly is swung downwardly h much farther than is required for loading, and these parts remain covered so that it is literally impossible for sparks to fly from the gun, even if the trigger should be pulled with the sub-assembly open.

In the drawing;

Fig. 1 represents a side elevational view, partly broken away, of a toy gun, shown styled to resemble a rifle, in-

cured at its rear end, as by rivets 12, to a stock 14, and

at its forward end is similarly secured to a hand rest 15. A simulated barrel tube 16 is retained between the housing and hand rest 15, as shown.

2,847,785 Patented Aug. 19, 1958 In the hollow portionof the housing 10 between the rear end of the hand rest and the forward end of the stock 14, a chamber is formed, defined by substantially parallel side walls 18 and 20 as shown in Fig. 2. The side walls are interconnected by an integral top wall 21, but the bottom is substantially uncovered and defines a slotlike opening which extends forwardly and rearwardly. The rear end of such opening is designated by the reference numeral 22, while the front end of the opening is defined by the rear end of the handgrip 15. The sheet metal housing is bent beneath the stock 14 in the region designated 24 and such under-bent portion is extended forwardly to the previously-mentioned point of termination, designated 22, such terminal portion defining a lip which acts as a keeper for the latching mechanism whic serves to hold the subassembly closed.

The subassembly is carried by a backing plate, generally designated 25, which may be die-cast in one piece and which is proportioned to fit into the space between the side walls 18, 20 of the housing. Formed integrally with the backing plate is a bottom wall 27 having a lip flange 26 which extends outwardly beneath the side walls 18, 20 to limit upward movement of the subassembly. The trigger guard 28 is also formed integrally with the backing plate. One wall ofthe backing plate, designated 30 and shown at the left in Fig. 2, is flat, and lies closely adjacent the wall 2d of the housing. A forward lower portion of the backing plate is provided with an integral forwardly projecting lug 32 through which a longitudinally elongated slot 3 3 extends. The backing plate is pivotally secured in the gun by a pin 35 supported in the side walls 18, Ztland extending through the slots 34.

A hairpin spring 36 is supported on a post 38 which may also constitute an integral projection formed on the backing plate. The left leg of the hairpin spring 36 bears forwardly against the pin 35 while the right leg of the spring bears rearwardly against a wall 40 which constitutes a part of the guiding means for directing fired portions of the cap strip downwardly and out of the gun. A lug portion 42 integral with the wall 40 overlies the right leg of the spring to prevent it from sliding off the post 38.

At its rear extremity the backing plate is provided with a nose portion 44 having a flat bottom surface which is spaced upwardly above the flange portion 26 a distance substantially corresponding to the thickness of the lip 22 which as stated constitutes the keeper projection. The nose portion 44 has an integral upwardly and forwardly inclined rear surface portion 45 and the nose portion is adapted to act as a latch bolt when the backing plate is swung upwardly to the closed portion shown in full lines in Fig. 1. During such closing movement the entire backing plate is cammed forwardly by the sloping surface 45, against the opposition of the spring 36, while as soon as the nose is above the keeper lip 22, the spring moves the backing plate rearwardly so that the nose overlies the lip to hold the plate in the closed position. In order to open the gun for loading, it is only necessary to push the plate forwardly, by pushing on the trigger guard, to free the nose from its overlying position with respect to the lip 22, whereafter the plate can be swung downwardly to the position shown in broken lines. An integral spur 46 on the trigger guard constitutes a convenient finger piece or handle for moving thebacking plate.

An integral post 50 projecting from the face of the plate somewhat below and forwardly of the center thereof is adapted to support a cap roll in the conventional manner. When the subassembly is closed, the bottom wall 27 closes the entire bottom of the chamber between the side walls l8, 2! except for a slot 54, through which the trigger 55 projects, and a downwardly opening passage 56 through which the expended portion of the cap strip is expelled. The passage 56 is located forwardly of the trigger guard, and is also spaced forwardly with respect to the post 50. A wall'52 forming an integral upward continuation of the bottom wall 27 extends between the cap post 50 and the passage 56, to effectively separate the expended cap strip passage 56 from the magazine chamber surrounding the post 50. An upwardly and rearwardly sloping wall portion 58, constituting a further integral continuation of the wall portion 52, acts as an anvil, the caps being fired on its upper, forward surface, and integral continuation wall portions are also pro vided extending rearwardly and thence angularly downwardly, as shown at 60, 62, to further isolate the magazine chamber except at the lower rear portion thereof. The wall portion 60 extends substantially horizontally and acts as a'shelf over which the caps are fed, While the sloping wall portion 62 serves as a guide, being rounded at its lower end to facilitate the feeding of caps therearound and to the upper surface of the shelf 60.

The hammer 64 is pivoted to the rear and above the magazine chamber upon a post 65 which also may be integral with the backing plate. The hammer is urged downwardly by a hairpin spring 66 wrapped around the post 65 and having one leg bearing downwardly against a lug 68 integral with the hammer and another leg bearing downwardly against a post 70 integral with the backing plate and located spacedly behind the post 65. The portion of the hammer which is pivoted on the post 65 is formed with a vertically elongated slot so that the rear portion of the hammer can move upwardly with respect to the backing plate from the position shown in Fig. 1, although such movement is also opposed by the spring 66. An arm 74 integral with the trigger 55 and pivoted therewith upon a post 75 integral with the backing plate, extends upwardly adjacent the backing plate and carries at its upper end a pivot pin 76 on which is mounted a feeding dog 77 having a finger portion 78 which extends forwardly and downwardly into engagement with the top surface of the feeding shelf 60. The finger portion 78 is yieldably urged downwardly against shelf 60 by a spring 30 which is wrapped about the trigger pivot post 75 and which is formed with an upwardly extending arm which bears rearwardly against a lug 82 formed integrally with the dog 77. Lug 82 projects outwardly from the hub portion of the dog 77 spacedly below the pivot pin 76. The other arm of the wrapped spring 80 extends forwardly on top of the bottom wall 27 and projects behind a lug 84 which prevents the spring from sliding off the post 75. The finger portion 78 keeps the dog from turning counterclockwise beyond the position shown in Fig. 1, and the spring 80 accordingly urges the arm 74 rearwardly, and thereby also urges the trigger '55 forwardly to the position shown, wherein the hub portion of the dog 77 is arrested in its rearward movement, and the other parts are correspondingly located, by a projection 85 formed integrally with the backing plate.

The hammer is formed with an integral downwardly projecting arm 86 at its rear end engageable by a scar lug 88 projecting integrally from the side of the arm 74. When the trigger is pulled, the sear urges arm S6 to the left, as shown in Fig. l, lifting the hammer, and after the sear passes beneath arm 86, spring 66 drives the hammer downwardly against the anvil. When the trigger is released, the inclined back of scar 88 exerts an upward camming action on the arm 86 of the hammer, lifting the rear end of the hammer sufiiciently to permit the sear to pass thereunder and reassume its position behind the arm 86, which then snaps back down to the position in front of the sear, in which it is shown.

it will be noted that the spring 80 is held against escape by the lug 84 and so retains the trigger member and arm 74 against escape. The upper end of the vertical '4' arm of the spring 80 overlies the dog 77, and holds the dog in place, while the dog in turn overlies the hammer 64 and spring 66, preventing escape of these parts. Thus the spring 80 retains all of the working parts.

The cap strip is fed from the magazine chamber upwardly and rearwardly, around the lower end of angular wall portion 62, under the finger 78 and over the feeding shelf 60, downwardly beneath hammer 64- and over the anvil 5S, and thence downwardly through and out of the passage 56 beneath the gun.

It will be noted that even when the subassembly is swung open far enough to insert a roll of caps, the hammer and anvil are protected between the side plates 18 and 20, and

' that by virtue of the arrangement of the parts and the pivoting of the subassembly near its front lower corner, it is almost impossible to fire the gun with the hammer and anvil in an exposed position. The act of pulling the trigger also tends to close the subassembly. The spring 36 does not urge thesubassembly toward either the open or the closed position, so that when loading it is not necessary to have the subassembly open farther than is required to insert the caps, and neither does the user have to hold the subassembly in the open position during loading.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodi ment of the invention herein described is well calculated to fulfill the objects and advantages first above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to variation, modification and change without departing from the fair meaning and proper scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a toy gun, in combination with a housing having a pair of spaced side walls defining a chamber therebetween and an opening in a bottom portion of the housing affording access to said chamber, a firing mechanism for strip caps, comprising a substantially flat supporting plate pivotally supported in said housing at its forward 'lower corner and swingable at least partially upwardly and rearwardly into and downwardly and forwardly out of said chamber through said opening, a pair of pivot posts with non-engaging free ends projecting from said plate, atrigger pivoted on one of said posts, an actuating arm fast with respect to said trigger and overlying said plate, a feeding dog pivoted on said actuating arm, wall portions on said plate which extend longitudinally above and in front. of

. cap supporting means and which define an anvil, a hammer hammer and urging the latter in one direction, said spring means entirely overlying said hammer on the oppo-g site side thereof from said plate and having one end se-z cured against movement away from said plate, said feeding dog overlying said spring means and hammer on the opposite side thereof from said plate, additional spring means reacting against said feeding dog and overlying said trigger and also overlying said dog on the side thereof opposite said plate, and means holding said additional spring means against movement away from the'plate, whereby said additional spring means retains said trigger, arm and dog against movement away from said plate and said dog in turn holds said hammer. and said firstmentioned spring means against movement away from said plate, said firing mechanism being movable to an accessible position outside said chamber by pivotal move-; ment of said plate to an extent insufficient to move said anvil and hammer out of said chamber, whereby said wall portions in the loading position of the firing assembly isolate the firing section disposed within said cha n-E her from the accessible magazine section.

2. In a toy gun for firing a roll of caps, in combiner tion with a housing defining a chamber having an opening in its bottom, a cap magazine and firing assembly;piv-, otally supported adjacent a lower forward portion'there of on said housing for pivotal movement upwardly and rearwardly through said opening into an operative cap. firing position within said chamber, wall portions carried by said assembly between the upper and lower edges thereof dividing the assembly into a firing section in the upper portion thereof and a magazine section in the lower portion thereof, said wall portions providing 'a cap feeding shelf and a cap firing anvil in said firing section, a hammer carried by said assembly and movable in said firing section toward and away from said anvil to efiect firing of the caps thereon, trigger means carried by said assembly and projecting downwardly from said housing when said assembly is disposed in its operative position for moving the hammer, and means in the magazine section of said assembly for supporting a roll of caps, said assembly being pivotally movable downwardly and forwardly from said operative position into a loading posi- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,368,402 'Kilgore Feb. 15, 1921 1,671,447 Peake May 29, 1928 2,290,995 Rickenbacher July 28, 1942 2,621,436 Weimer et a1 Dec. 16, 1952 2,681,528 Lewis June 22, 1954 2,702,464 Hirsch Mar. 8, 1955 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent Noo 2,847,785 August 19, 1958 Oscar M. Birdsall It is herebi certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 29, for "present" read represent line 30, for "assembly" read subassembly line 41, for "maner" read manner column 2, line 32, for "slots" read slot column 6, line 14, list of references cited, for the patent number "2,702,464" reed w 2,703,464

.( E L) Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE ROBERT c. WATSON Attcsting' Officer Commissioner of Patents UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No, 2,847,785 August 19, 1958 Oscar M, Birdsall It is herebir certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 29, for "present" read represent line 30, for "assembly" read su'bassembl line 41., for "maner read N manner column 2, line 32, for slots" read slot column 6, line 14, list of references cited for the patent number "2,702,464" read w 2 '7O3,464

Signed and sealed this 23rd day of December 3.958.,

Attest:

KARL Hg AXLINE ROBERT c. WATSON Attesting Oflicer Commissioner of Patents 

